Road Trip
by VashandNaomiForever
Summary: Tifa and Cloud are on a road trip, heading for the Oregon coast (yes, they are in the real world for this fic). Cloud takes a detour to check out a car for sale, they get stuck in an abandoned town, with empty buildings and corn fields to keep them company. Thriller/horror. Scary story that's gonna have twists to it. Only intending to write a few chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Road Trip**  
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**Disclaimer:** FF7 belongs to Square Enix.

Tifa had wanted a simple vacation, a week on the Oregon coast with her boyfriend Cloud. Cloud, being a cheap individual, wanted to drive there, saving money by not purchasing expensive plane tickets. She was alright with the road trip idea, what she hadn't planned on was their long moments of silence. It was like he was a manikin at the wheel, unfeeling, unresponsive except for other traffic.

Cloud wasn't a gabby person to begin with, but they were going on vacation for crying out loud! Shouldn't he be excited? At least Tifa had the radio to listen to, the music and DJ's voices a suitable substitute for Clouds nonexistent behavior.

After the second state they passed through, she finally asked him f he was upset with her.

"No, what makes you say that?" He asked, oblivious to his cold demeanor.

"You haven't said ten words to me for the last three hundred miles, I'm starting to think you're not happy we're taking a week vacation." She commented, the other shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm fine." He assured her, going "mute" for another hundred miles before stating he was hungry, pulling off to grab a burger at some mom and pop joint in a small town in Idaho.

"Well, at least we're almost in Oregon." Tifa commented after they'd ordered a meal, sitting next to the tall blonde who sipped his soda quietly.

"Headed to Oregon, huh?" The waitress commented. She was a large, pear shaped lady who looked about in her mid thirties, with red hair and freckles. Her gentle brown eyes smiled kindly behind her glasses, as she waited for Tifa to respond.

"Yeah, we're going to the coast." Tifa smiled back, glad for the conversation.

"Oh the coast! It sounds like a fun time, are you and your hubby renting a cabin or staying at a hotel?" She curiously asked, Tifa blushed.

It wasn't often that people called Cloud her husband, and it gave her butterflies when someone made that simple, silly mistake.

"We have a cabin waiting for us." Tifa answered, looking over at her companion to see if he'd have any input for this topic.

Cloud kept quiet, looking at a local car advertisement, ignoring the women.

"It's our first road trip together, it's been sort of a quiet ride." Tifa confided with the waitress, the lady giving a chuckle.

"Honey, I have a hard time getting my man to shut the hell up, you're lucky." She winked, teasing lightly as she went in the back to go about her daily tasks.

'Yeah, just the radio and me, having a good time watching fields go by.' Tifa negatively thought. The only landscape around here had mostly been boring farm ground. They had passed two tractors already, what other boring thing were they going to witness? Horse and buggy?

Turning on her bar stool, looking out the restaurants main big window, she gaped as some lady went by, driving two miniature horses with a little black buggy.

"I was just joking!" She spoke out loud, never imagining they'd really see that type of thing...rural areas...they were unpredictable.

The lady with the miniature horses parked within the restaurants parking area! Securing her steeds before leaving her form of transportation. She was a short, skinny thing with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair braided down her back, the length reaching past her rump.

"Jenny! Is my order ready?" She called, walking into the place of business like it was a second home, leaning against the bar counter and smiling as the large waitress came from the back.

Jenny held a styrofoam to go box and two carrots in her hands.

"Give my best to your critters." Jenny smiled, handing over the items.

"Will do, take it easy, Jen!" The lady waved, leaving them.

"That kind of thing normal around here?" Tifa commented, looking over at the red headed lady who shrugged.

"Yeah, we get some interesting characters in here." She admitted.

Tifa looked over to Cloud, seeing if he had been surprised as well. The man was still glued to the advertisement, oblivious to the outside world.

"What is that damn thing, anyway?" Tifa snapped, ripping the paper away from him, looking over the ad.

"1979 Trans AM Firebird. Black and gold, snowflake rims, 57,000 original miles. 403 Oldsmobile engine, runs like a champ." Tifa paused, looking at the guarded looking face of Cloud. "What the hell are you doing looking at this? Don't tell me you're going to make a side trip!" She complained, Cloud shrugged, taking back the ad and folding it neatly before placing it in his wallet.

"Where's Roswell?" Tifa asked Jenny, their waitress.

"It's near the Oregon border, close to Adrian." She offered, moving off to go retrieve their meals.

"Cloud, we're not looking at it!" Tifa warned him, giving him the stink eye which he ignored.

"Here you are! Two burgers, one with fries," she handed that to Tifa, "and one with tots." The other was placed before Cloud. "Is there anything else I can get you folks?" She kindly asked, noticing the man had an empty glass. "Want a refill?" She asked.

Cloud nodded a yes, already starting on his tots, dipping them in ketchup, getting the red liquid on his lips.

"Cloud, after this we 're fueling up and heading into Oregon, that's all. No side trip, no car." She made her stand, picking up her thick burger and taking a hearty bite.

"Here ya go." Jenny had refilled his drink, bringing it back with a grin.

"Roswell isn't that out of the way, not a lot of folks there, mostly fields." She commented, "You might enjoy the area." Jenny tried remaining positive, telling that Cloud had on a guarded yet determined face.

"We'll be going to Oregon after this." Tifa assured her, the waitress nodding her head and leaving the two alone.

-0-0-

He was going the wrong way, if he wasn't driving Tifa might have decked him right in that quiet, cold face of his! He was doing a good job of pissing her off, the brunette fuming in her seat, a volcano about to erupt.

Corn fields surrounded them, every four way stop next to a tall green field. They hadn't seen any houses, only farm land. Was he lost? If not yet, he would be, and he was going to hand over those damn car keys if he did get them lost. She'd leave his crapy, shitty attitude behind and go back to the restaurant and wait, teach him a lesson on how a boyfriend ought to listen to his girl.

They came upon a large, abandoned school, it's dark windows eerie to Tifa as they passed. Next came a run down gas station, it looked like it had been out of service since the seventies, gas prices lower than she'd ever seen in her lifetime.

Small, sad looking houses were along the road, no cars in the driveways, no people outside enjoying the summer weather. Lawns were overgrown, gopher mounds taking over most of the small communities untamed lawns.

There were crows, but no other animals were around. They had their windows down, listening to the silence and Tifa getting a creeped out feeling.

"Shouldn't there be people? I don't even hear dogs barking, Cloud. Maybe we should turn around." She was trying to be gentle, to not go off the handle with him. He ignored her, continuing onward and driving past the town, following the road that was always surrounded by corn.

After five miles, they came upon a farmhouse with the muscle car parked in front. Cloud pulled onto the driveway, parking their car and getting out, saying not a word to Tifa. His eyes were glued to the black a d gold colored car, fixated on its curves.

"Men." Tifa huffed, getting out and walking over to the car. No one had greeted them yet, as the blonde looked inside the car, opening the unlocked door and checking out the interior.

"Cloud! No ones even out here yet!" She was scolding him, but he didn't seem to care.

"It's in pristine condition." He finally spoke, hands touching the steering wheel, stroking it almost...

"We're not getting it." She made her opinion known.

"Five grand is a steal, Tifa." He looked at her now, not with care or compassion, but with the air of superiority. He looked at her like a man might do to a woman who knew nothing about cars. Basically, he looked at her like she was stupid.

"Cloud, we can't cover an expense like that." She tried reasoning.

"I've got some money." He offhandedly mentioned. They had shared an account for three years, this news of possible 'mad money' gave her a gut ache. She never hid money from him, what did this mean? It meant he was an ass hole, at least that's how she was seeing it at the moment.

"Give me the keys." She grounded out, extending her hand out.

"Why?" He asked, confused now.

"You're gonna do, what you're gonna do. If you 'have the money', the there's no reason you're gonna need this car to drive. I'll meet you in Oregon." She answered him, waiting.

"No. We haven't seen the owner yet." He ignored her hand, turning to the farm house.

"Cloud!" Tifa griped, following him to the door, waiting impatiently as he knocked. No one answered. They waited ten minutes, and still no one came.

"Well, guess we'll have to leave then." Tifa commented, noticing it had gotten late, the sun almost set.

"Let me leave my number," Cloud took out a business card he had, sliding it under the door before turning back to their car. They got inside, Cloud looking dejected as they backed out and headed back in the direction of that strange, abandoned town.

The car started making strange noises, started dying as they entered the spooky town, the light from the setting sun almost gone. Cloud pulled over, getting out and popping the hood.

"Great, just what we needed." Tifa sighed, waiting inside the vehicle.

Cloud closed the hood, a confused look on his mug as he got back in the car.

"Well, what's wrong with it?" She asked, feeling impatient, the sooner they left this place, the better she'd feel.

"When we were looking at that Firebird, did you hear anyone?"

"Well no, neither did you. Why?" She raised a curious brow.

"The fuel line's been cut." He answered, silence settling in like a choking gas.

"How? We were right there?" She was astonished, how could anyone have done that and they didn't see it?

"We were looking at the other car." Cloud was looking uneasy, pulling out his phone and frowning deeper.

"No service." He spoke, Tifa hurriedly taking out her own phone, cursing as she too noticed there wasn't any service on her cell.

"We'll walk around a bit, stick to the road, see if either of us gets any service." He made a game plan, getting out and heading towards the trunk. Cloud kept blankets, flashlights, repair kits, you name it, in the trunk. He opened the trunk, and let the F bomb drop.

"What?!" Tifa asked, getting out and walking over to him. Their trunk, that held food, drinks, and so much more, was bare. You could see the carpet it was so bare. How in the world could this have happened?

"Alright, I have 80% battery power on my phone, they'll do for flashlights. How's your's?" He asked, getting back to figuring out their situation.

"70, it's not going to last long. Lets hope we get service." She commented, following her man along the road, slowly walking past empty houses.

A howl, followed by another, until it was a chorus of howls, came from the opposite end of the town, where all that corn was growing.

"Coyotes, they're small." Cloud assured her, the girl hesitantly following again, her eyes wider than they had been. Cloud was muscular, but if an animal did attack...I mean it'd be different if he had a gun, or a baseball bat for that matter, but he didn't. They were vulnerable, walking at night, in a community they didn't know anything about.

"Anything yet?" He spoke, the girl sighing and answering a no.

"It's fine. We'll just keep walking." He was insistent.

They were passed the houses, coming upon the old gas station. Wind came up, causing the pumps to creak, the building to moan...

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, jogging to catch up to her man, holding his hand as they walked. Was she still mad? A little, but right now she'd let that go, he was her only companion out here, and he'd be the one to get them back to civilization. Tifa was not as resourceful as him, out in the boonies like this. She was mostly a city girl, country stuff just wasn't her thing. A small coyote to Cloud was a big beast in her eyes...a beast with possible rabies.

The gas station door creaked open, the wind doing it...they stopped and stared, watchful and waiting. When no one came out, Cloud lead her toward it, saying there might be supplies they could use inside.

"I hate this!" She complained, the blonde giving her hand a timid squeeze.

"It's fine, we'll look inside and leave." He reasoned, gently opening the door, using his phone as a light source to look at the buildings insides. It was mostly gutted, a few shelfs left with cans of expired food on them. They were checking out the other shelf when the front door slammed closed, Tifa screamed and clung to Cloud who tried to tell her to calm down. They both quieted when they heard shuffling, Cloud raising his phone to light up different areas. It landed momentarily on something with fur, it moved quickly away from the light, behind another shelf.

"Get me out of here!" Tifa yelled, ditching Cloud and using her own phone as she ran towards the door, shoving it open and tripping, falling hard onto the asphalt.

"Tifa!" Cloud called, jogging to her side, helping her up. "It was a skunk, okay?" He said, brushing off some pebbles stuck to her bare legs, the lady was wearing jean shorts and a tank top, not a good thing to have on when crashing onto asphalt.

"We need to leave, Cloud. This city gives me the creeps." She cried to him, the other leading her calmly back down the road, heading towards the school.

"Come on, maybe the school will have a first aide kit, that knee looks bad." He commented on her cut up leg.

"It's fine, lets just leave the town and..." And be stuck out with all that corn? It was eerie too.

"Lets just take a quick look." Cloud argued, leading his unhappy girl towards the entrance.

"Quick look? This school is huge!" Tifa complained, limping a little as they started up a few steps. The building was made out of block, holes in some of the outside walls, maybe it was falling apart all over, was it safe to really explore?

"It'll be fine." Cloud continued to reassure her, opening the large, heavy entrance door and walking into the dark building, his phone their only flashlight, Tifa was conserving hers for when Clouds ran out of battery.

It was musty and moldy inside the building, sewage smell another aspect to their journey through the aged school.

"There should be a nurses office around here somewhere." Cloud spoke, looking for any old, faded signs that might help.

They looked inside rooms, finding nothing resembling a nurses office, and deciding that maybe it was down stairs.

"I don't want to go down there." She argued, not moving when he'd try to pull her upper arm.

"Use your phone for a light, I'll go down and be right back." He finally adjusted their plan, Tifa unhappy at being alone, but fearing the basement even more.

"Just hurry, okay?" She asked, the other nodding and making his way into the dark, disappearing from view.

"I hate this town." Tifa cursed as she used her phone as a light, shivering a little. The holes in the walls let in that summer breeze, chilling her slightly.

"Cloud, don't take forever down there." She sighed to herself, already worrying about the blonde.

-0-0-

Cloud found the nurses office, digging around until he found a dusty, old fashioned medical kit. He opened it up and found wrappings, along with rubbing alcohol. Not much was really in it, but it'd be enough to clean up Tifas wound. He turned around to go, and noticed an old fashioned, white nurses hat on the ground. It was right in the doorway, and it hadn't been there when he had first arrived.

"Alright, who's there?" His voice echoed, no one responding.

Cautiously, he stepped over the hat, exiting the office and heading towards the stairs.

A soft rustling sound was heard behind him, he turned quickly, his light landing on white shoed feet in the office doorway, the light slowly moving up, showing tall white socked legs, a plain grey dress, a red sweater, and then...

"It's time for your shot, little boy." A voice, creaky and icy spoke to him. The face was nonexistent, black. A void. Though a white nurse hat was atop that void, so he assumed it was a head.

"Little boy, don't you want to feel better?" A grotesque, greenish black, decaying hand raised into view. A very large needle was on the end of that shot, Cloud took a step back, bumping into something solid. He turned, his light landing on another, black voided face.

It was wearing a brown suit, it appeared male in its narrow features.

"Young man, the nurse is waiting." A strict, principal like voice came from the things nonexistent face.

Cloud stepped back to turn and look back at the nurse, she had moved closer.

"Times up." She stated simply, the thing behind him suddenly grabbed him from behind, holding Cloud with a strength he'd never had experienced.

"This is crazy!" Cloud spoke, somewhat believing this was all just a terrible, horrible nightmare.

"Hold still, son, she's only trying to help." The man thing holding him spoke, as the shot wielding nurse moved in.

"There, be a good boy and you'll get a sucker." She cackled, before suddenly moving with unreal speed and jabbing him in the chest with the terribly long needle.

-0-0-

A/N: Short thriller story, only a few chapters. Wanted to get ready for Halloween by writing fun, scary things.


	2. Chapter 2

**Road Trip**

Disclaimer: FF7 belongs to Square Enix.

Cloud had been downstairs for a while now, Tifa was starting to get antsy, ready to leave the creepy, musty smelling school. At least no rats or roaches had scurried by, that only would have fried her nerves even worse. Tifa was contemplating if she ought to trudge down those stairs and go gather her lolly gagging boyfriend when she noticed a basketball. It seemed to have appeared out of no where, the oddest part was it was beginning to roll away from her, into the darkened hallway they had yet to explore.

"Shit!" Tifa cursed, wanting Cloud to be with her, but also wanting to know if maybe it had been some farm kid, playing a stupid trick...curiosity getting the best of her, the brunette took out her handy dandy phone and used it to light her way along the unexplored hallway. She couldn't see the ball, but she could hear it rolling, the back of her mind still hoping it was a kid, pulling her leg and thinking it funny to prank lost travelers.

The hall was narrow, doors passed by, she didn't bother opening any of them, she was on a mission, following a mysterious rolling basketball. It lead her to the opening of a large gym, Tifas phone unable to light up the gym completely, but she could tell what it was due to the flooring.

Tifa bent down and eyed the silent, unmoving ball, wondering how in the Hell it had moved like that without assistance.

"Those shorts aren't dress code approved, missy!" A stern, male voice spoke from behind her, frightening the girl and causing Tifa to fall forward, into the dark gym. Her phone fell from her hand, lighting up the ceiling as she struggled to stand up, clawing for her phone when a teenishoed foot came out of no where, kicking the phone away, further into the darkness.

"Pick it up." The male voice above her rasped, Tifa standing, looking up at the person, unable to make out his form.

"Who ar..." She was interrupted suddenly, unable to ask who he was.

"I said pick it up, missy!" He pointed, at least, she felt like his hand reached out past her to point at the phone. Tifa, her face very confused, turned and started for her personal item, stopping at the little light source and bending over.

"Those shorts are unacceptable!" That mans voice spoke again, his hands came around, grabbing her hips inappropriately.

"You'll have to strip down and put on a more suitable pair!" He began to tug, Tifa slapped at his hands, one hand holding her phone as she struggled to get out of his unwanted grip.

"Hold still, little missy, coach knows best!" He seemed to be reassuring her, her slaps not stopping his persistent tugs. Finger found her buttons, and soon he had her shorts tugged down, his forcefulness causing her to fall.

He pulled the jean shorts completely off, her black thong exposing her white butt cheeks.

"Coach knows what's best." He repeated these words, coming down on her, Tifa screaming and rolling onto her back, looking up into a void less face attacked to a gym teachers body. He had on a red collared shirt with tan shorts, a whistle hung around his black, void neck area.

"Cloud!" She called out the name of the only other person within this haunted school. A decaying, blackened hand went up and covered her mouth, silencing her plea of help.

Tifa felt herself fainting, the last words she heard coming from the paranormal thing above her.

"Coach _always_ knows best..."

-0-0-

Cloud woke up on the ground, alone and sore. He felt of his chest, feeling no needle attached to him, and causing him to sigh with relief. It was an illusion, he'd been mistaken. Nothing strange had happened, he'd just fainted...

Cloud scrambled up, pulling out his phone and noticing the time. Tifa had been waiting for him for twenty minutes now, she had to be worried about him. Cloud noticed the first aid kit on the ground, he scooped it up and hurriedly headed up the stairs. His phone was down to fifty percent, if they didn't get cell service soon...well, they'd be in worse shape.

He climbed the old, dusty stairs, and no pretty brunette awaited him.

"Fuck." Cloud cursed, wondering if she had gone outside or wandered the halls. That's when he heard a scream. It was coming from down the hall, Cloud rushed down the narrow path, holding his phone out to light the way. In the dirt and grime he could see footprints that fit her shoe size.

"Tifa?!" He called, hearing his name called out nearby, his light landing on the gym entrance. He went through the door, his phone lighting up the area, in the middle he saw her. Tifa was on the ground, her face to the floor with her ass in the air. She had her shorts off...

"Tifa?" He quizzically called, wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Caught old coach scoring, eh champ?" A strange, male voice spoke from beside him, making Cloud jump as he turned his phone light onto the apparition. It looked like a gym teacher, with a red shirt and athletic shorts on. The face, just like the others, was void, nonexistent.

So he hadn't been dreaming, he hadn't made up that scenario from earlier...wait a minute, did that fucker just say he'd been scoring? Now Cloud was beyond fear, he was pissed. Sure, Tifa could annoy him greatly with her attitude and nagging nature, but she was his woman. Anything or anyone that tried something funny with her, would have to deal with him.

"Tifa, I'm right here." Cloud kept his eyes on the ghost coach as he moved over to her still form, bending down to place a hand on her back.

"Why don't you go back to class, champ? Old coach needs to finish having a word with this cheerleader." It spoke to Cloud, slowly moving closer to the couple.

"Forget it, scram, _Casper._" Cloud insulted the apparition, staying close to his unconscious girlfriend.

"You giving me lip, _boy_? I'm gonna tan your hide!" The being was angry now, decayed hands balled into gross looking fists, the thing putting up its fists threateningly towards Cloud.

Along the gymnasium floor, a rolling sound was heard, grabbing the blondes attention. With his phones light, he watched as a baseball bat rolled near him, a life line he needed at that particular moment. Taking his reassuring hand off of Tifa's back, he gripped the wooden bat. Cloud turned to the ghoul, it's fists still raised at him.

"Fuck off!" He growled, swinging the bat, pushing back the gym teacher spirit, the being cursing him for his actions.

"You owe me ten laps!" The stupid thing spoke as if Cloud were merely a misbehaving student.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Cloud cynically spoke, swinging at the thing, pushing it away, deeper into the darkness of the gym.

"You're cut from the team!" It cried, seeming to disappear after making that odd statement. Cloud went back to Tifa, dropping the bat and lifting her body up, the first aid kit hanging from one wrist while he uncomfortably aimed his phone in an awkward way, lighting his way as they left the gym, going back down the hall they had traveled.

-0-0-

Tifa awoke in a different room, filled with small wooden desks. Faded pictures done in crayon were still stuck on the classrooms walls, ABC's bordering the room like wall paper.

"Cloud?" She called, looking around and seeing his blonde, spiky head popping up from the teachers desk.

"How do you feel?" He asked, walking over and placing a gentle hand on her thigh. Tifa glanced down and noticed that her shorts were missing, her lower half clad in only her skimpy black thong.

"It wasn't a dream. Cloud, we need to leave!" Tifa gripped him by the front of his shirt, shaking him with urgency.

"I know. You were out for an hour, Tifa. What do you remember?" He asked, taking her hands in his, pulling them away from his shirt and letting them rest in her lap.

"That thing...that man. It kicked my phone, I went to get it, and it touched me! It took my shorts off and wrestled me to the ground." She was feeling sick to her stomach, recalling that thing bending her body over in a lewd manner.

"Tifa, did it touch you..." Cloud looked down, Tifa following his gaze to her panties.

"I fainted, I don't know if it had time to...it was a fucking ghost, how could it touch me like that? And why would it?!" Tifa argued, still uneasily looking down at her crotch. Come to think of it, she was sort of uncomfortable down there.

"Cloud, give me a moment." She asked, gesturing for the guy to give her space. Sure, they had been together for years now, he'd seen her naked many times, but somehow this moment felt...awkward.

Tifa turned away from him, lifted down her panties, and took her fingers to feel around herself. Her fingers brushed against a foreign object, making her gasp.

"What?" Cloud demanded, moving to see her hand touching 'down stairs'.

Easily, with careful movements, Tifa started to pull out whatever the item inside her was, the object white and cotton in material. It was a jock strap, how the hell one of those...wait, there was more, the thing was tied together to another one! Tifa kept pulling, feeling like a magician as she revealed more jock straps tied together, exiting her pussy like silk scarfs exited a magic top hat.

_Five_, there had been _five_ of those bastards shoved inside her body, both Cloud and herself looking dumbly at the pile of soaked straps. How was any of this remotely possible?

"We need to get out of this building." Cloud spoke, his voice breaking the silence they had stumbled in.

"Cloud, are we going to make it?" Tifa's voice was shaky as she asked him, wanting honesty.

"Lets get moving." He ignored her question, walking towards the door and waiting as she pulled up her panties, slowly walking over to his side.

"It's gonna be fine, Tifa." He tried reassuring her, giving a brief smile before frowning once more, looking at their door with concern.

"Cloud, lets not separate again." Tifa commented, wanting to be clear on her stance.

He simply nodded, completely understanding what she meant. Things were no longer safe enough for them to do things alone. Whatever was going on in this town, they'd face it together.

-0-0-

A/N: Thanks for the review! And no, I didn't just insert Cloud and Tifa's names to an old story I wrote, this idea just kinda came to me one day at work, so I started writing it down. I hope everyone likes this chapter, things are getting pretty weird in this town, think our couple will make it?


	3. Chapter 3

**Road Trip**

**Disclaimer:** FF7 belongs to Square Enix.

Tifa was frightened, scared of what was currently going on within the abandoned schools walls. She had never believed in anything paranormal, ghosts were a joke to her, yet here she was, experiencing something she could not explain or remotely begin to understand.

Cloud was leading them on what felt like a wild goose chase, searching for an exit. She may be afraid of the things lurking in the dark, but Tifa was also feeling anger. Anger towards her stubborn ass boyfriend who had insisted they take a side trip, who had truthfully gotten them into this fucking mess. All for a car, a vehicle he didn't need, a muscle machine Tifa had thought they couldn't afford (though apparently Cloud had money for it, both surprising and irritating her).

He essentially doomed them, if they had just gone to the coast, entered Oregon and left this side trip alone, none of this would have happened. Tifa wouldn't have had the pleasure of pulling out five wadded up jock straps, tied together, out of her now incredibly sore vagina. Thanks again, _Cloud_, you sure know how to show a girl a real good time!

"I really hate you." She breathed out as they wandered the dusty, grungy halls, her thoughts making her so emotional that she spoke her feelings of deep resentment.

Cloud ignored her, doing the one thing he was good at, as they continued on in silence. Tifa sighed, gazing at her bandaged cut on her leg. At least the jerk had handled that little problem. Still, she wasn't going to be happy with him until they were out of this hell hole. Even afterwords she might hold a quiet resentment towards him, this adventure was no picnic in the park, it was a terrible mistake she would try to forget about.

They came upon two large, metal doors. Cloud reached out and attempted to push them open, the doors creaking and groaning but never giving an inch.

"Come on, Cloud!" Tifa was urging him, willing him to break down the fucking things if he had to.

"I'm trying, Tifa. I think they're locked." He cooly spoke to her, backing away from the doors, essentially giving up in Tifa's opinion.

"This is stupid!" Tifa growled out, pushing past the blonde to attack the doors, pushing with all her might, not making a thing happen. She was getting frustrated, which lead to her temper rising. She began to throw herself against the doors, then raising her fists to beat on it, yelling out every curse word in her vocabulary as she threw a miniature tantrum against the unfeeling doors that kept them prisoner.

"Tifa." She heard him call, felt his hand touch her shoulder.

"This is all your fault!" She turned on him, eyes squinted with aggression as she pointed an accusing finger at his chest. "If we had just fueled up and entered Oregon, none of this shit would be happening!" She dropped her pointing finger to let both her hands ball up into fists.

"All for what? An old car?" She spat, shaking her head from side to side as she continued to glare at him.

"Pontiac."

"What?" She quickly asked, his voice coming out quick and quiet like.

"It was a Pontiac Firebird. A _Trans Am_, Tifa." He seemed to be defending his decision, an unwise choice with how his lover was currently feeling.

"I don't give two fucks if its the rarest car in the world! It got us here, stuck in an abandoned shitty town, trapped in a possessed school! How do you plan on fixing all this, Cloud?!" She demanded to know, feeling her patience snapping in half as the blonde merely shrugged.

"We'll find a way." He casually answered her.

"Just like you found your way here?" She sassed him, the cool headed man finally beginning to show emotion, his lips frowning.

"This is starting to get old, Tifa. We need to focus now." He started to turn from her, heading down the hall.

"You know what else has gotten old, Cloud? Your cold fucking attitude!" She lashed out, more focused on fighting with her boyfriend than figuring a way out of the school.

Cloud turned back towards her, his face stony as he inwardly began to count to ten. Tifa didn't realize how dangerous their situation was, her emotions were fogging out any better judgement she might have had.

"Tifa..." Cloud began, his voice was controlled, guarded.

"No Cloud! I am sick and tired of how you've been during this whole trip! What did I do to make you act like such a emotionless prick? Even now you're not acting scared, or nervous, you're just a tall blonde _rock_!" Her voice was rising, her words bringing sparks to Clouds normally neutral eyes.

"I am calm, _Tifa_, because _one_ of us has to be. If we lose it, if we start to panic, then we'll never leave this place. I don't care if you see it as cold and unfeeling, I know I'm doing the right thing for the both of us." He left it at that, leading her away from the locked doors.

"Fucker." She huffed to herself, following him in a pissy mood.

"What'd you say?" Cloud turned, glaring at her angrily.

"You heard me." She snapped, both of them now focusing on each other.

"I'm trying to help and you think I'm a fucker? Well fine, if I'm a fucker, _Tifa_, I guess that makes you a _controlling_ bitch." He cursed her, Tifa's mouth flying open in utter shock. He never talked to her that way, the brunette had pushed him over the edge.

Squeakkkkk

They heard a strange noise, a rolling sound following the loud squeak. Clouds phone lit up the area the sound was coming from, a yellow mop bucket beginning to appear, the wooden handle of the mop sticking out of the yellow container. Gnarled, wrinkled hands gripped the wooden handle, the flesh a grey color, clammy looking.

The hands belonged to an individual wearing a long sleeved, dark blue jump suit, the light of the phone showing an empty face, only blackness where a head ought to have been.

The oddity looked upon them, stopping his carting motions to watch the couple gape.

It pulled up the mop and let it's wet end splatter to the floor like a squishy jellyfish, the janitorial looking thing swishing the mop back and forth slowly. Cloud noticed the water was strange, too dark of a color. His light shone closer, examining the things mop.

Dark, crimson blood was being smeared all over the dusty floor, the spirit still acting as if cleaning the floor, either unbothered or uncaring that it was only making things messier.

"Cloud, is that?" Tifa hesitated, her eyes quick to notice the stains now appearing on the mopped floor.

"Yes, it's blood." He spoke cooly, his expression trying to remain calm and collected, but his eyes were a bit wider than normal as they simply continued to watch the spectacle.

"What...what does he want, Cloud?" Tifa whispered to her boyfriend, scooting closer to the man she'd been yelling at only moments before. This ghostly appearance had scared her into a submissive state, willing to let their bout go to get through whatever this thing had planned for them.

"Come on, lets just turn the other direction, maybe leave it alone and it will stay where it is." He reasoned, backing up at first, keeping his eyes on the mopping janitor. When the phones light no longer showed the spirit, they heard a strange noise behind them, in the direction they were backing into.

Quickly they turned, Cloud shining his phones light upon the same individual. He wasn't going to let them leave, this fact was starting to sink in with the blonde, his face holding such a lost expression that Tifa felt the need to show some strength. Her hand reached out and squeezed his, the blonde slowly gazing at her, worry covering his usually handsome features.

"He's just mopping, how bad can that be?" She unwisely commented.

It chuckled, long, loud and deep. The type of chuckle you imagine children eating clowns make when they're about to eat little Billy's arm, that level of creepiness is what came out of the faceless individual.

"My, what a mess you've made, quite a cut you've got there." It giggled, the couple wondering what the thing had meant, feeling just fine.

"Tifa, you're bleeding!" Cloud pointed at her forearms, long cut marks down them, blood dripping out in large unhealthy amounts.

"What are you...?Cloud! You're bleeding!" She saw his face scratched up horrifically, blood leaking from his massively fucked over face.

They didn't see harm to themselves, only seeing wounds on one another. This fact took them a moment to realize, their eyes seeing such a horrible and frightening illusion that it was hard for logic to creep into their frame of mind.

"Wait, I'm not bleeding." Cloud argued, touching his face, no blood was left on his hands to show any sign of a wound.

Tifa looked over her own body, her arms appearing fine. "Cloud, I'm not cut." She looked up at her boyfriend, both their attention so invested on one another, they barely dodged when the janitor decided to take a swipe at them with a very sharp looking knife. Tifa fell to the floor while Cloud stayed on his feet, calling towards the spirit to give his lover time enough to stand.

"Fill my bucket!" The thing menacingly laughed, slicing at Cloud as he backed away, dodging the attacks as he used his phone to keep track of the things position.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled, getting up and taking out her own phone for a light source, trying to catch up to the quickly disappearing two. It was easy keeping track of where they were, Clouds phone light helping with that. All of a sudden, his light went out, a scream followed after that, making Tifa cry out in fear as she hauled ass to the last part of the hall she had seen the light source.

Clouds dead cell phone was on the dusty floor, no blood or dusty footsteps were left behind, it was like the man and ghost had simply just vanished...

"Cloud!" Tifa called out into the night, hearing her own voice echo off the walls. What had happened to him?

-0-0-

A/N: And so, without meaning to, the lovebirds are separated once again. Will Tifa be able to find her own way out of the school? What will be awaiting her once she does go outside? That corn was pretty dense and eerie, almost anything could be hiding within its rows...R&R please!


	4. Chapter 4

**Road Trip**

**Disclaimer:** FF7 belongs to Square Enix.

He woke up feeling cold, his eyes blinking rapidly to try and blink away the darkness. It didn't help, the man could barely see six inches in front of him, so he started using his other senses, starting with touch.

His hands patted earthy soil underneath him, fingers finding something coarse and tall. He bent his head, sniffing the tall and leafy object. His hands reached higher, feeling an object that was familiar.

"Corn." He spoke out loud the word, he knew where he was now, he was in a cornfield.

What had happened to the school? To the janitor who had been about to slice him with that knife? His phone had died, leaving him vulnerable, after that everything was hazy. Cloud couldn't recall how he had gotten here.

Tifa, she was a sitting duck inside that school. Her mind wasn't practical or resourceful like his own, she'd be a goner soon if he didn't find her. Cloud slowly rose to his feet, feeling the soil sticking to his backside, weighing him down.

It was so dark, but he had to do something! Carefully he kept his hands out, touching the corn as he walked forward, almost using them like a railing.

'Eventually it will end...' He thought logically, keeping a steady yet careful pace as he moved on.

As he marched in the dark cornfield, he started to think back, trying hard to remember how he had gotten there.

A growl was heard, causing the man to halt momentarily, looking left and right, expecting eyes of some animal to appear. No glowing eyes greeted him, but the growling continued making him move forward, his pace quicker.

'It's probably just a coyote, or a badger...Nothing to worry about.' He tried easing his mind, wanting to stay logical, to keep his cool.

The corn was moving. Not because of his presence, not because of a breeze, there was something else in there with him. Cloud was no coward, but with his visibility diminished, he knew perfectly well that he was at a disadvantage. Realizing that he could possibly get bitten or attacked in some other way, the blonde began to jog. That jog turned into a sprint, which turned into an all out run.

The movement was getting closer, the corn parting some distance away from him, something large was running in this field. No badger or coyote could have bent back the tall corn that badly, a cow or horse maybe, but those animals didn't growl.

The corn rows ended, dumping Cloud onto a farm, a light post illuminating a weathered white barn. The man booked it over to the light source, finding comfort in it as his chest heaved heavily. His eyes stayed glued to the corn. Seeing movement but no animal yet visible. Once the movement got close to the end of the rows, it halted. He could hear breathing, a low rumbling growl, then the corn started parting away from him, going back deeper into the field.

Whatever it had been, it apparently didn't like light. Cloud let his heart rate slow down before deciding to check out the barn, maybe there would be lanterns he could use, or a weapon...

-0-0-

Tifa had attempted to open all of the windows, the panes acting nailed down, her strength unable to lift any of the up.

So she started looking for a different exit door, using her phone's light to guide her way. It was at 50 percent, not using it often had conserved its battery, but now that hers was the only working phone, Tifa knew she didn't have long before it'd die.

She had come across a utility room, the door hanging open for her, giving Tifa reason to pause. Would something be waiting for her? Cautiously, her hand with the phone peered in, her thumb pressing the camera button, taking a photo of the rooms contents. She looked her phone over, seeing the picture of a typical supply room, no evil spirits lurking.

Tifa took a deep breath before peeking her head into the tiny room, her phone illuminating it entirely. There were brooms, mops, sponges, and all sorts of old cleaning solutions. An old boiler was in one corner, a vent was above it, catching her attention.

She had seen adventure movies before, maybe she could climb into that vent and find her way out of this school...

It opened, making her gasp and take a step back. A very pale looking child was inside the vent, it's face sad with dark circles under its weary eyes. The first type of spirit around here with an actual face. It gestured for her, and then began crawling away, disappearing from view.

Plenty of questions ran through her head as she contemplated on what she should do. The ghost child had not hurt her, but that didn't mean it wasn't trying to lead her into danger. It had a face, did that mean it was different than the other spirits they had met? It was a tight vent, could she easily escape it if things got too frightening?

What would Cloud do? Probably frown and tell her how incredibly stupid her idea was,that it wasn't safe or a sure thing.

"Screw it." She sighed, finding crates to stack up, helping her reach the vent. Tifa was not afraid of cramped places, but she also wasn't happy being squished tightly inside this cramped vent. Slowly, she began to crawl, heading in the direction that the child had gone.

-0-0-

Miscellaneous scrap metal covered the barns floor, pieces of farm equipment and other old vehicles scattered everywhere. He picked up a sharp looking chunk of metal as he looked over everything else. Clouds eyes wandered to a darker, less lit corner of the barn. He noticed an old Kawasaki three wheeler, the way it was designed looked like it had been made in the mid 80's. Its green plastic frame had pieces out of it, cracks everywhere, the seat was chewed on. The tires were holding air, a positive aspect to the rundown vehicle.

Cloud messed with the mechanics of the wheeler, curiosity getting the best of him, he decided to try the pull string. With a firm jerk, the motor made a noise, the three wheeler attempting to come to life. It halted its noise, dying for an unknown reason. Cloud gave it another try, taking his free hand to rev the engine, keeping the vehicle alive.

With the wheeler idling, he flipped on the lights, genuinely surprised they turned on. Thanking God for small favors, he put his metal weapon on the box attached to the front of the wheeler, and started off.

It wasn't a smooth ride, but it was quick transportation. He drove it around the old farmhouse, locating the drive way and following it all the way to the pavement. Once on asphalt it drove smoother, roaring like a lion as he popped it into fourth gear. Now all he had to do was follow the road into town, get to the school and rescue Tifa.

"Please be safe." He quietly hoped, his hair billowing in the breeze as he zoomed onward. They would always have their disagreements, but Cloud didn't want her to die when one of their last conversations had been an argument.

Cloud couldn't help his demeanor, it came naturally for him to stay quiet. He didn't speak unless it was important or relevant. He couldn't stand people that had to gab all the time, talking just to hear the sound of their own voice, people like Reno.

Reno was a neighbor and their '_friend_', always inviting himself over for dinner, hanging out with Tifa when Cloud wasn't home. . .Honestly, Cliud had for a while been wondering if the two were having an affair. Tifa never said anything that made him wonder, it was all Reno 's behavior towards her.

Maybe that was why he'd been extra distant lately, without even really knowing it. Maybe his coldness had made her want this vacation to begin with. It sure hadn't helped their relationship. Cloud was a part of the problem, keeping quiet and guarded, then going to look at a car when Tifa hadn't wanted to.

All these thoughts were running through his head as he drove on, the quiet moment alone giving him reason to reflect on their relationship. Tifa and him had been together for four years, long enough that you'd think they'd know each other better. Was she the cheating type? No, but he still felt insecure about it, feeling lied to when he didn't honestly know whether or not it was going on.

"I love her." He was asserting this fact verbally, feeling that truth within his core. He loved Tifa, even with thoughts of her possibly cheating, his heart still belonged to her, even if Cloud didn't show it well.

-0-0-

A/N: thanks for reviewing! Here's another chapter to get ya excited and ready for more!


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